Around the Region - Oct. 29

Wednesday

Oct 29, 2008 at 1:09 AM

Police BeatMan, 18, charged with robbing deliverymanA Lake Butler man was arrested Monday afternoon allegedly using a gun while robbing a food delivery person. Damian Bradley Beamus, 18, was charged with robbery with a firearm for the Sunday night incident. According to Gainesville Police Officer Michael Schentrup, a delivery person from Szechuan Panda was making a delivery at The Oaks apartments at 7:25 p.m. Sunday. The delivery person told police he was robbed at gunpoint by a man wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt.The robber allegedly took about $60 in cash and the Chinese food the man was preparing to deliver, then ran up the stairs to the third floor of Building 11 in the apartment complex, the deliveryman told police.Three witnesses later told police that Beamus had been with them inside an apartment on the third floor of Building 11 and had left wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt. Police said the witnesses told them that when Beamus returned, he told them he had robbed a Chinese man. After Beamus was arrested on Monday, Schentrup said Beamus admitted to robbing the deliveryman and said he had used a large black pellet gun to commit the robbery. The gun reportedly was found in the apartment, where the witnesses said Beamus had been visiting them before and after the robbery. Bond for Beamus was set at $100,000. He was being held at the Alachua County jail on Tuesday afternoon.— Karen Voyles

Man, 31, is accused of driving toward officerPolice have arrested a man who they said drove toward an officer before crashing on a northwest Gainesville street Friday night.Officer Rob Narayan arrested Brian Lavone Simmons, 31, on charges of aggravated assault on an officer, resisting an officer without violence, an open container violation and causing a hit-and-run accident, Gainesville police reported.Police were heading toward a vehicle, which was parked on a sidewalk and blocking pedestrian traffic, when they reported the driver began to accelerate toward Officer Charlie Ward.The vehicle drove away with the motorist running a stop sign at NW 9th Street and 3rd Avenue, according to officers. At one point, the vehicle was airborne before the motorist lost control in the 200 block of NW 9th Street and crashed into a tree, police said.The driver, identified by police as Simmons, left the crash scene but was later found at a W. University Avenue gas station.— Lise Fisher

28 written tickets for passing school busesOfficers issued 28 citations against motorists last week as part of a crackdown on illegal school bus passing, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office reported.The program, named Operation Bluebird, called for strict enforcement of state laws that determine when a driver can pass a school bus. Officers from the Sheriff's Office, the Gainesville Police Department and the Florida Highway Patrol participated in the countywide enforcement detail.Officers also issued 36 other citations, gave 28 verbal or written warnings and issued two criminal citations.Under Florida law, when a school bus stops, turns on its flashing lights and extends its stop sign, other motorists must stop, unless there is an unpaved median of at least 5 feet, a raised median or a physical barrier separating their vehicle from the bus.In Alachua County, about 14,000 students use one of 140 bus routes, according to the Sheriff's Office.— Lise Fisher

UNF president asked to step in for chancellorThe president of the University of North Florida has been recommended to be the interim leader of the Florida Board of Governors.Board Chairwoman Sheila McDevitt announced Tuesday that she was recommending that UNF President John Delaney serve as the board's "president in residence" during a search for a new board chancellor. The board is the statewide governing body for public universities.The full board will vote Nov. 20 on the recommendation. Delaney, the former mayor of Jacksonville, would continue serving as UNF president and receive no compensation for his board role under the proposal.Last month, board Chancellor Mark Rosenberg announced he would leave the position in February. A search committee that includes University of Florida Board of Trustees Chairwoman Dianna Morgan is seeking a permanent replacement.— Nathan Crabbe

Veterans can get free flu shots at VA centerEligible veterans can get vaccinated against the flu beginning Monday at the Gainesville VA Medical Center. Free flu shots will be available near the main lobby from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Two Saturday drive-through vaccination clinics are also scheduled on Nov. 8 and Dec. 6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the signs to the basement entrance.For more information, contact Jackie Beane at 352-376-1611, ext. 4715.— Diane Chun

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